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NORD remembers actor Jack Klugman for support to the Orphan Drug Act

Jack Klugman touched the lives of millions of Americans through his support for what ultimately became the Orphan Drug Act. By portraying on his Quincy, M.E. television show the plight of people with rare diseases with no treatment, Mr. Klugman focused a spotlight on the need for incentives to encourage the development of therapies for small patient populations. He did this in partnership with patients and patient advocates who had been unable to gain national attention until he lent his support.

25 Dec 2012

Survey reveals significant improvement in delivery of underused care

An analysis of nationally representative survey data found significant improvement in the delivery of underused care, but more limited changes in the reduction of inappropriate care in ambulatory health care settings between 1998 and 2009, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012

Children with chronic conditions use more resources at hospitals

Children with chronic conditions increasingly used more resources in a group of children's hospitals compared with patients without a chronic condition, according to a report that analyzed data from 28 U.S. children's hospitals between 2004 and 2009, and is being published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012

Blood transfusion may increase risk of death in heart attack patients with anemia

When heart attack patients present in the emergency department with some degree of anemia, or anemic patients have a heart attack, physicians have a tendency, but not much guidance, about whether to provide a blood transfusion.

25 Dec 2012

Taxing health coverage would lead some to drop coverage, survey finds

Proposals to tax health benefits, sometimes touted as a way to help reduce the deficit, could have unintended consequences, according to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

21 Dec 2012

Shifting health care landscape changes how doctors practice, and for whom

News from the health care marketplace includes changes in how doctors practice -- they are increasingly seeing patients via webcam and working for insurers in insurer-run doctor offices.

21 Dec 2012

Roundup: Calif. hospitals fined over serious errors; Mass. pharmacy waiting period continues; Hospitals acquiring 'tough reimbursement climate' in Alabama?

Ten California hospitals received fines Thursday for errors that resulted in either serious injury or death to a patient. The California Department of Public Health issued a total of $785,000 in penalties for errors that include removing the wrong kidney, leaving surgical objects behind and failing to call for assistance when a patient began bleeding excessively (Gorman, 12/21).

21 Dec 2012

Post-Newtown: Parents, politicians, health officials press for more mental health funding

For parents around the U.S., the mass school shooting in Connecticut fueled fears about how to ensure the safety of their own children. But for parents like [Elizabeth] Guzman, the tragedy affected them in a different and terrifying way, as they saw signs of their children in the shooter.

21 Dec 2012

GAVI Alliance audit expressed 'serious concerns of misuse of GAVI funds' in Sierra Leone, Reuters reports

The GAVI Alliance "has put on hold some $6 million earmarked for Sierra Leone after an audit showed misuse of previous funds, a document seen by Reuters showed," Reuters reports.

21 Dec 2012

CHPA praises signing into law of anti-methamphetamine bill

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) today applauded Ohio Governor John Kasich for signing into law House Bill 334, an anti-methamphetamine bill authored by Representative Terry Johnson (R-Portsmouth) and Representative Danny Bupb (R-West Union). With the new law, Ohio now becomes the 25th state to adopt real-time, stop-sale technology known as the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx).

21 Dec 2012

Efforts to eliminate FGM 'breaking new ground' with approval of U.N. General Assembly resolution

"The fight to eliminate the scourge of female genital mutilation is breaking new ground," following the adoption of a U.N. General Assembly resolution on Thursday "calling on all states to enact legislation banning this egregious human rights violation," Emma Bonino, vice president of the Italian Senate and founder of No Peace Without Justice, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

21 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Playing chicken on entitlements; 'Getting serious' about mental illness; Hospital labs devastated by Sandy

This is no time for a Grand Bargain, because the Republican Party, as now constituted, is just not an entity with which the president can make a serious deal. If we're going to get a grip on our nation's problems - of which the budget deficit is a minor part - the power of the G.O.P.'s extremists, and their willingness to hold the economy hostage if they don't get their way, needs to be broken. And somehow I don't think that's going to happen in the next few days (Paul Krugman, 12/20).

21 Dec 2012

Republicans press Obama administration for information on contractors

GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee say they want more information from the Department of Health and Human Services, even as House and Senate GOP lawmakers pressed for details about the contractors who will set up insurance markets in states that don't do it themselves.

21 Dec 2012

Mobile technologies helping mothers receive health information

"Twenty years ago this month, the first text message was sent through the airwaves," Sharon D'Agostino, vice president for worldwide corporate contributions and community relations at Johnson & Johnson, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, adding, "Since then, text messages have been used to communicate all sorts of information.

21 Dec 2012

Ambulance diversion not an effective way to control emergency department crowding

Massachusetts' 2009 ban on ambulance diversion not only did not increase emergency department length of stay or ambulance turnaround time but may actually have led to improvements in both areas, according to a study published online today in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("The Effect of an Ambulance Diversion Ban on Emergency Department Length of Stay and Ambulance Turnaround Time").

21 Dec 2012

Cholera strain from Guinea identified as more toxic, contagious

"Scientists say the cholera outbreak that struck more than 7,000 people in Guinea this year was caused by a more toxic and more contagious generation of the bacteria," and they "suspect the same strain killed nearly 300 people and struck more than 22,000 others in neighboring Sierra Leone," VOA News reports.

21 Dec 2012

Medicare rolls out quality bonuses and penalties

Under a new program created by the health law, hospitals can get larger payments -- or payment cuts -- based on the quality of care they provide.

21 Dec 2012

Looking back at global health in 2012

In a joint post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a senior fellow at the CGD; research assistant Denizhan Duran; and Kate McQueston, program coordinator to the global health policy team, recap major global health events in 2012, linking to previous coverage of highlighted issues.

21 Dec 2012

Medical marijuana lawsuit in Calif. hinges on federal inaction, science

The fight over marijuana -- for medical purposes or not -- simmers in California, where the drug is treated casually and a large medical marijuana dispensary is challenging the federal government's closure of its business.

21 Dec 2012

Photo-catalytically active coatings can help reduce nitrogen oxides

Surfaces with photo-catalytic characteristics clean the air off nitrogen oxides and other health-endangering substances. Using a new test procedure, Fraunhofer researchers can find out how the coatings behave during a long-term test. They will introduce the test at the booth of the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance in Booth 131 / 135 in Hall C2 at the Trade Fair BAU that will take place from 14 - 19 January, 2013, in Munich, Germany.

21 Dec 2012